Longines Spirit 39mm Review: Smaller, Cleaner Pilot's Watches

The Longines Spirit Pilot watch collection was released back in 2020 and I recall going hands-on with the then-new pilot’s watches, which were a blend of contemporary with a dash of vintage styling. Since then, the brand has clearly listened to the response from enthusiasts who have been generally receptive to the collection, but with some consistent points of criticism. Namely, the five stars on the dial were divisive and even though it comes in 37,40, and 42mm case sizes, none felt like they hit that “Goldilocks” zone for a lot of people. Fortunately for those buyers, Longines just dropped two new watches that might be the best in the collection so far: the Longines Spirit 39mm three-hand and the new Flyback in a 39.5mm case.

Longines Spirit 39mm Pilot's Watch

First, let's look at the Spirit Pilot three-hand watch which comes in a stainless steel case measuring 39mm wide and 11.5mm thick with a lug-to-lug measurement of 47mm. While the gap between 39mm and 40mm doesn’t sound too dramatic, the latter has a lug-to-lug that measures just shy of 50mm which is simply too big for a lot of people. And 37mm is just too small for many of those same people. So, with that established, it’s not hard to see why this 39mm case size is so well received. The rest of the case is simple enough with alternating brushed and polished finishes, a sleek bezel, and a domed sapphire crystal with dual-sided AR coating. Finally, it also offers 100 meters of water resistance.

Then there’s the dial, which is probably where things differ the most from the existing Spirit models, as the five stars are now gone. The classic pilot-watch design is achieved with a matte black dial accented with bits of gilt finish for that vintage-inspired look that doesn’t go overboard. The lumed, diamond-shaped hour markers look great alongside the Arabic numerals, while the pencil-shaped hands are perfectly legible with plenty of lume throughout. I also appreciate the lack of a date window here, though that’s something you can find in other iterations of the Spirit Pilot if you choose.

Behind the enclosed steel caseback is the Longines L888.4 movement, which is a no-date, modified version of the ETA A31.L11. The L888.4 operates at 3.5 Hz and has a 72- hour power reserve, which is pretty solid. It’s also COSC-certified, with an accuracy of -4/+6 seconds per day. Finally, there are hacking seconds and manual winding here, which makes for a really excellent package — especially when you consider the price.

The Spirit Pilot has three options as far as strap or bracelet choice go. One is a brown leather strap with deployant clasp that allows for 5mm of micro-adjust. Then there’s a rubber strap with a textile-pattern finish and a steel pin buckle. Finally, there is the three-link bracelet finished with alternating brushed and polished finishes. The links have a nice rounded finish to them and the double-safety folding clasp has a push-button activation. Oh, and there’s 5.5mm of easy micro-adjust as well.

Longines Spirit Pilot Flyback 39.5mm

The other new Spirit Pilot watch we're examining here is the excellent Flyback model. Previously only available in a 42mm case size, this new 39.5mm model is one of the most appealing new releases of 2025, in my opinion. The watch's stainless steel case  measures 39.5mm wide and 13.4mm thick with a lug-to-lug measurement of 47.4mm (with 100 meters of water resistance). And while the case size reduction from 42 down to 39.5mm is major, the case slimming down from 17mm thick to 13.4mm is nothing short of a game changer.

The sleek, bidirectional rotating bezel has a ceramic insert and has a countdown timer, a feature introduced here for the first time. There’s also a very nice, box-shaped sapphire crystal that has double-sided AR coating for enhanced legibility. The dial finishing is nearly identical to that of the three-hand model but with a 30-minute chronograph subdial at 3 o’clock and a running seconds subdial at 9 o’clock.

Through the caseback window you’ll see the L792.4 movement, which is a heavily modified Valjoux 7750 manual-wind flyback chronograph caliber exclusive to Longines. It’s got modern bells and whistles like a silicon balance spring, and you’ll notice the blue column wheel as well. It’s a handsomely finished movement that delivers on performance with COSC certification while operating at 4Hz with a 68-hour power reserve.

Final Thoughts

The new Longines Spirit 39mm is an excellent addition to the brand's pilot watch collection, and it’s so refreshing to see a brand take feedback from enthusiasts in a way that offers new options while not taking anything away from the existing line. The pricing here is doing to be a major draw, at $2,700 on the rubber strap, $2,850 on leather strap, and $3,100 on the bracelet. The new Spirit Pilot Flyback is also a solid value considering this is one of the more complex chronograph mechanisms out there ,so the price of $5,350 on strap and $5,500 on bracelet is perhaps an even more solid value than the three-hander. You can learn more at longines.com.